‘The Good Place’ Creator: Narrative Tricks Are ‘Less Crucial’ In Season 2

“The Good Place” dropped one of the most shocking TV twists this year when it revealed at the end of its Season 1 finale that Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason are actually in the Bad Place all along. While that game-changing reveal made Season 2 so much more exciting, fans shouldn’t expect a similar narrative trick in the current installment, as creator Michael Schur thinks that plot twists are now “less crucial” on moving the story forward.

“If we need to do certain things to tell the right story, sometimes that means us doing a little trick in the employment of a larger purpose,” Schur told TV Guide. “But we’re now deep enough into the show that the relationships and dynamics between the characters are telling us how it needs to be written, which is a good place to be instead of just imposing your will onto the story.”

“We don’t have to rely these little narrative tricks or misdirections or whatever,” Schur continued. “Those are less crucial now than they were at the beginning of the show, because now the relationships [between characters] have deepened and they’re more interesting.”

In an interview with Vulture last September, Schur admitted that he has felt the pressure of people expecting more twists since dropping last season’s huge reveal. “It’s a double-edged sword, right?” Schur said. “I think the reason we pulled off the twist in the first season without a lot of people guessing is because nobody was expecting it. Now we’re in a situation where everyone’s expecting it and so the double-edged sword is, do you try to come up with one big twist that’s as shocking? Or do you not do that and risk betraying the DNA of the show?”

“The show threw everything up in the air and blew up the whole world at the end of the first season and that’s a little bit why people like it, I think. Or at least some people like it for that reason. So you want to honor that,” Schur continued. “You don’t want to suddenly make it a totally different show, but at the same time, part of the reason why they liked it is that they didn’t know it was going to happen. If you play right into their hands and do another big twist, that might be the least shocking thing you could do.”

“The Good Place” returns from hiatus on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 at 8:30 p.m. EST on NBC. Check out the synopsis for Season 2, episode 9, titled “Leap to Faith” below:

“Michael (Ted Danson) receives a surprise visitor. Meanwhile, Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and Jason (Manny Jacinto) attempt to solve a riddle.”